The Fortune 500 largest U.S. companies slashed a record 821,000 jobs last year, even as their collective profit soared more than three-fold to $391 billion, according to the business magazine, which issued the annual ranking on Thursday.
The companies suffered an 8.7 percent drop in 2009 sales as the recession, the sharpest decline since 1983, took its toll and spared few industries last year, but the cost cutting, including the job cuts, more than offset that.